I’ve become jaded about sticky and sweet ma po tofu, starchy vegetable stir-fries, stale-looking cha han (fried rice) and fancy Japanesey dim sum.

For a change of scenery (and culinary palate), we took ourselves off to Yokohama’s Chinatown in search of a great meal.

If you are not fussed enough to go as far as Nikko or Kamakura for a day trip out of central Tokyo, Yokohama is an excellent and convenient destination that is just 20 minutes on the express train from Shibuya. Yokohama may be a also city but it has a certain quaintness about it — it’s quieter, more spacious, and moves at a more languid pace.

Here are a few pictures of Chinatown in all its red glory.

We poked around and found authentic Chinese ingredients, like fried shallots, fiery-hot chili paste, and dried scallops, but strangely they mingled next to Thai curries and coconut milk.

The ubiquitous nikuban (meat bun) stalls were at almost every corner we turned. They looked fat and yummy.

Although the restaurants on the main Chinatown street beckoned with their shiny new menus and extravagant offerings, my friend and I decided to dine at a hole in the wall type of Chinese eatery to get away from the common fare so readily available.

As we ambled down the dark little side lanes, we spotted lively shops promising delicious dishes with the aroma of garlic and oyster sauce wafting out. Rule of thumb while hunting: always pick a more crowded restaurant than an empty one. And so we did.

We got a hearty all-you-can-eat dim sum spread for only 2,500JPY.

The only things that had a Japanese twist were the spinach dumplings. They used sticky mochi as the skin but they tasted pretty good anyway.

I don’t know the Japanese pronunciation of the shop’s name so here are pictures of the kanji and the address, in case you want to look for this place. I wouldn’t say it was out-of-this-world dim sum but it was very good for its price and the dumplings were all succulent and savory like they should be. The sizes are normal (read: not miniscule Japanese servings) so you will feel stuffed to the brim.

Personally I’ve not been to the 5am auctions but I’ve been to the market twice early in the morning.

I realized that this experience is not for everyone. If you dislike seafood or are indifferent to it, you should skip this tourist attraction. You won’t have any regrets.

But if you love your fish the way I love my mine and the myriad of sea creatures Nature has to offer, it will be visual feast.

Yes, raw and barely alive, and I love it that way.

I’ve a couple of tips as a wee veteran:

*If you can’t stomach sushi first thing in the morning, just head over for an early lunch at around 11 or so.
*If you’re drunk and have a hare-brained idea to eat sushi after clubbing by way of the first train, don’t.
*If you dislike the smell of wet markets and raw meat, skip the wholesale section and just head to the sushi restaurants.

Lastly, don’t queue at the restaurants with the long lines — their sushi is not any better than the lesser known ones. They just didn’t make it to the Lonely Planet.

But since the auctions are open to the public again, I might venture out to take a peek at the boisterous daily event.

Photos: chillntravel, china chas, -nathan, yusheng, photojennic

Posted from my mobile phone

Photo courtesy of Shin-Tokyo Tower Co

Ryogoku Station,
originally uploaded by lhuga.

I went to Ryogoku with my friends today.
This is the first time going there, and I was really surprised to see 2 paintings of Sumo Wrestler inside Ryogoku station.
This guy is the champion of March 1972.

Outside of that station, there were some statue of Sumo Wrestler along the road.

However, I never seen any REAL Sumo Wrestler there.

This is Sumida-gawa river, near Ryogoku station.There are many houses of homeless people……

So….my best friend and I went to Akihabara again…
what did we go there for… not to be looked after by those photographs of maids, nor go and buy tons of games or audios… we went there to actually see people ….

Akihabara is a well known spot for both Japanese and foreign tourists. This is where u can get the newest models of everything…. TV games, computers, audios etc etc…. You see crowds of people who have cameras hanging from their sholders…. many go there to buy cheapest and newest models of everything, but lately there are few other reasons for men to go there….

Yeap, the reason is the maid! Those girls have french maids costumes! Some others have costumes of animation characters/disney characters. They are so used to be taken photos, so when my girl friend asked them to take another pic, nobody hesitated. Would I ever do it? No way.. I am not keen on smiling to strangers, but also look after and give massages to those men…. totally not my type.

It is not good to stereotype guys there, but many tend to have certain characteristics…. they tend to be more indoor guys who are either very skinny or quite chubby…. many have straight black hair, wear glasses, no interests in fashion etc.etc……

I mean as long as they don`t harm me, I don`t care what they do… Akihabara is just simply a paradise for those so called TV game geeks, computer geeks and whatever u can imagine…..

Getting to Hakone is cheap enough, but don’t let that fool you. It’s a tourist area just like any other, and once there you’ll find yourself paying for all variety of buses, cable cars and boat rides just to find something to do. The best thing to do is purchase the Hakone Free Pass and a spot on the Romance Car heading out of Shinjuku Station. It’ll cost you around 6500 yen, but it’s worth it unless you stay inside your hotel the entire time.

Which brings me to that uncomfortable topic. Hotels and ryokan in Hakone don’t come cheap. The closer you are to Lake Ashi, the more expensive they get. That plus the fact that each additional person has to pay the same room rate even if you’re all sharing one room (don’t get me started on that practice) means your wallet might take a hit or two. The hotel I stayed at, Musashiya, was 36,000 yen for two people and one night. Of course, I could jump out my window and land in the lake it was that close, and there was an onsen on the 5th floor, but strangely these things don’t seem as important when you’re checking out.

So what’s there to do in Hakone? For starters, there’s the various ships touring the lake that you can ride on. One of them just goes out for half an hour and returns you at your destination. Another takes you to the other end of the lake, where as far as I could tell there was only 1 thing to do – ride the ropeway.

The ropeway is nice for sight-seeing on a clear day. Unfortunately it was overcast much of Sunday, and the ropeway is out of view of Fuji much of the time. This is my way of saying I ain’t got no pictures for you. There are two or three stops on it, and the whole thing, like the boat rides before it, takes less than 45 minutes. While that may not take up too much time, if you get out at Owakudani you can visit art museums, parks and a little museum dedicated to The Little Prince. There’s a lot to do, and you can’t do it all in a day (especially if it’s like -50 degrees outside with a heavy wind from the lake). If you bought your Hakone Free Pass, these trips between places are all included, so you might as well use it.

All in all, Hakone is a great place to visit if you need a break from Tokyo’s hectic schedule. It costs a bit to get out there and find a place to stay, but you can find cheaper places 40 minutes out from the lake that won’t break the bank. Bring something to do, though. A lot of the time will be spent on a bus or train, so make sure to carry your favorite book or PSP games with you.